This invention relates to motion-based disabling of electronic devices and, more particularly, to the disabling of distracting features of electronic devices in a vehicle while the vehicle is moving.
It is sometimes desirable to disable features of an electronic device while the electronic device is in motion. For example, it can be distracting and dangerous for a driver to view a display screen of a laptop computer or similar device while the driver is operating a moving vehicle. It is known to fully or partially disable a display screen of a laptop or other electronic device in a vehicle while the vehicle is in motion. Examples of such safety systems are disclosed in references such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,690,940 (Brown et al.), 6,574,531 (Tan et al.), 6,122,682 (Andrews), 5,949,345 (Beckert et al.), 5,541,572 (Okamoto et al.), 5,404,443 (Hiratato), 5,148,153 (Haymond), 5,032,828 (Hirose et al.). The disclosures of these patents are incorporated herein by reference. The systems disclosed in these patents offer a number of advantages but are not without problems. For example, the methods disclosed in such references for determining whether a driver is operating a vehicle are generally needlessly cumbersome, expensive, and time-consuming. The disclosed systems typically call for extra equipment and complex and time-consuming installation. The disclosed systems are also typically difficult to move from one vehicle to another. The systems typically require the use of sensors that must be installed or associated with axles, wheels, speedometers, parking brakes, transmissions, drive trains, or other components of the vehicles. This means that these systems typically require specialized installation work to be performed on a vehicle to prepare the vehicle for the system. This also makes it difficult or time consuming to prepare a vehicle for use with the system. Systems relying upon these types of sensors may suffer from a number of other disadvantages such as undesirable wear and tear of mechanical systems and difficulty in maintaining, upgrading, repairing, and replacing such systems.
It is also sometimes desirable to provide a vehicle with a portable or onboard navigational system. Navigational systems typically include a computer, mapping or navigational software, and a Global Positioning System (“gps”) receiver. The gps receiver communicates with gps satellites and provides a data stream, typically including a number of data fields, to the computer.
Mapping or navigational software converts the data to a user friendly format for display on the screen, often showing the location of the gps receiver and vehicle on a map. Some vehicles are equipped with onboard navigational systems. Kits are also available that enable a laptop computer, personal digital assistant (“pda”), or similar electronic device to be used as navigational system that is very easy to move from vehicle to vehicle. Such kits typically include a portable gps receiver and navigational software. The gps receiver may be operably connected to an electronic device in any number of different ways. For example, the gps receiver may have a USB or serial plug 24, may include a compact flash card that fits in a card slot, typically with the help of a PCMCIA adapter, or may include wireless capabilities for a wireless connection. These mapping or navigational systems and kits also offer a number of advantages but are not without problems. For example, it can be distracting and dangerous for a driver to view a display screen of a mapping or navigational system while the driver is operating a moving vehicle. In fact, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,574,531 (Tan et al.) and 6,266,589 (Boies et al.) both disclose the use their systems for disabling at least some of the functionality of gps systems in moving vehicles for safety reasons.